Today, we have released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14965 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Slow ring. This build offers a small preview of what’s to come in the Creators Update which will be available to all Windows 10 customers next year. Many of the new and exciting features you saw shown off at our event on October 26th will start rolling out into builds in the coming weeks. Features such as the Paint 3D Preview are now available for Insiders to try right now! We’re excited to be releasing this build to Insiders in the Slow ring today!

What’s new for PC

The following list of improvements for PC includes everything that was introduced after the last build we released to the Slow ring (Build 14931) and before.

Hide app list on Start: We are releasing a new feature that enables you to collapse the app list in the Start menu. This has been a top feedback request from Windows Insiders. You can try it out by going to Settings > Personalization > Start and turning on “Hide app list in Start menu”.

Windows Ink Improvements: Pen dropdowns in Windows Ink Workspace will let you change both color and width without having to open it twice. After you make all the adjustments to your favorite pen, start drawing right away and we will dismiss the dropdown for you.

We are also introducing Stencils. Windows Ink protractor tool combines functions of both protractor and compass into one – now you can draw an arc or a complete circle of an arbitrary size with little effort. A familiar two-finger pinch gesture resizes the protractor to the desired size and a degree readout follows your pen, mouse, or finger as you draw along the side of the protractor displaying arc degrees. In this preview build, ruler also got a small update – its degree readout shows a numerical value of the angle, making drawing angles even easier.

Windows Ink Workspace Improvements: We have released a number of improvements to the Windows Ink Workspace.

We increased the number of Recently Used apps shown in the Windows Ink Workspace to 6, and added a link to quickly access your pen settings.

We’ve improved the performance of loading Sketchpad when there’s a lot of ink present on the sketch.

We’ve updated the new protractor, so that you can use the scroll-wheel on your mouse to shrink/expand it (depending on the direction of the scrolling).

We fixed an issue where, when using Sticky Notes in the Windows Ink Workspace, the background would ding when tapped.

We fixed an issue where inking and resizing the protractor at the same time would result in Sketchpad crashing.

We’ve also updated the “Pen & Windows Ink” Settings for pen users to now include a link to the handwriting training tool – simply click on “Get to know my handwriting” to launch it. We’ve also improved how we learn from your handwriting samples – try it out and let us know what you think!

Sticky Notes Improvements: The Sticky Notes app has been updated to version 1.2.9.0+ and we’re very excited to share what it includes! We’ve expanded our support for Insights to many more languages and regions, with even more to come in further updates, stay tuned! Specifically, with this version:

We’ve added email & URL recognition for every locale (except Chinese (simplified or traditional), Korean, or Japanese, which we’re still working on).

We’ve added phone number recognition to all English, German, Spanish, French and Italian locales.

We’ve added address recognition support for English (Great Britain) and Spanish (United States).

We’ve added time recognition (prompting to create a Cortana reminder) to English (Great Britain), English (Australia) and English (India).

We’ve added stock recognition (for example, $MSFT) to English (Australia), English (Canada), English (India), German (Germany), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), French (France), French (Canada), Japanese (Japan) and Portuguese (Brazil).

If Insights in Sticky Notes isn’t turned on automatically for you, tap “…” > Settings gear > “Enable insights”. Note: The language and region used to detect Insights in Sticky Notes is based off of the active keyboard. We’re currently investigating some issues where Insights may not show up as expected if you switch keyboards while typing in Sticky Notes.

We’ve fixed some issues with Undo and Redo (CTRL + Z/CTRL + Y) while typing, so they’ll now do so more reliably.

We’ve improved the performance of text input while typing.

It’s now easier than ever to get the latest Sticky Notes app updates. When our next update is available, we’ll show an in-app prompt so all you have to do is click ‘Update’.

We’ve also done a whole lot of UI/UX polishing and performance improvements that we hope you enjoy.

We have also added support for many of your favorite keyboard shortcuts, including CTRL + B (bold), CTRL + I (italic), CTRL + N (new note) and CTRL + D (delete note), added a new context menu for easy copy/paste, reduced the minimum note size for typists, as well as generally improved our reliability and performance.

Controlling external monitors from tablets just got easier (PC): You can now drive content on a second display from your tablet without ever having to attach a mouse. The virtual touchpad lets you do more with a tablet and a second screen – just connect to another monitor, PC, or TV, go to Action Center and tap on the “Project” Quick Action to extend your screen. Use it just like you would a physical touchpad to control content on the connected screen. To enable it, press and hold on the taskbar and select “Show touchpad button”. A touchpad icon will now appear in the notification area (just like Windows Ink Workspace does), and tapping on it will bring it up the virtual touchpad.

While the virtual touchpad is open, go to Settings > Devices > Touchpad and you’ll be able to tweak the touchpad settings to your preferences.

Improving Product Education: As part of an effort to explore new ways of educating our customers on features in Windows 10 – we are testing out new notifications within File Explorer. They’re designed to help customers by providing quick, easy information about things they can do or new features they can try to have a better experience with Windows 10. If you want to opt out of these notifications, you can do so by unchecking ‘Show sync provider notifications’ from the Options menu in the File Explorer View tab.

Improving app and update downloads in Windows 10 with Delivery Optimization: Windows Insiders that have Delivery Optimization enabled will be able to download new Insider Preview builds, OS updates, and app updates from other PCs on their local network as well as from other PCs on the Internet. We introduced Delivery Optimization with the Windows 10 November Update giving users the ability to get updates from PCs on a local network and are now enabling the ability to get updates from PCs on the Internet. When enabled, your PC may also send parts of apps or updates that you have downloaded using Delivery Optimization to other PCs. To check your settings for Delivery Optimization, go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Advanced options and choosing “Choose how updates are delivered.” For more details on these Delivery Optimization improvements – see this blog post. For more information on Delivery Optimization in Windows 10 – check out this FAQ.

Improving your PC upgrade experience: One of the ongoing feedback items we’ve heard is how the apps that come preinstalled with Windows will reinstall after each upgrade – particularly noticeable for our Insiders that receive multiple flights per month. We’ve heard your feedback, and starting with Build 14926, when your PC updates it will check for apps that have been uninstalled, and it will preserve that state once the update has completed. This means if you uninstall any of the apps included in Windows 10 such as the Mail app or Maps app, they will not get reinstalled after you update to a newer build going forward.

If an IT-Pro has de-provisioned an app from your OS image (and you haven’t reinstalled it yourself), that provisioning status will now be preserved after upgrade, and the app will not reinstall. We appreciate everyone who shared feedback with us about this – if you have any other feedback about your upgrade experience, please don’t hesitate to log it – we’re listening!

Simplifying your developer experience: We’ve done some underlying work, and now you’ll no longer have to reboot your PC after turning on Developer Mode! This means that you can start using Device Portal and Device Discovery as soon as the Windows Developer Mode package has finished installing, rather than having to reboot first.

Making pin login easier: Ever tried to enter your pin, only to discover the numbers you’ve been typing are nowhere to be seen because Num Lock was off? We’re happy to announce that that will no longer happen! Regardless of your Num Lock state, numbers will be input if you’re typing into the pin password field.

Export favorites from Microsoft Edge: We have added the ability for you to export your favorites from Microsoft Edge to an HTML file. Just click the “More” icon at the top right (the three dots), choose “Settings”, then “View favorites settings” and you will see the new option.

Native support for USB Audio 2.0: We now have native support for USB Audio 2.0 devices with an inbox class driver! This is an early version of the driver that does not have all features enabled, for e.g.: only playback (render) is supported with this version. Recording (capture) support is scheduled to arrive in later iterations. We encourage you to play with the driver and let us know what you think (using the Feedback app). If you already have third party drivers for your USB Audio 2.0 device installed, follow instructions in this blog post to switch to using the inbox class driver.

Authentication changes affecting connectivity to NAS devices and home file servers:After updating to the latest Insider Preview builds, you may have noticed that shared devices on your home network have disappeared from your home network folder. You may have also noticed your mapped network drives are not available. If you change your network to “private” or “enterprise”, it should start working again. For more information on this behavior change, see this Microsoft Security Bulletin.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Updates: WSL will install Ubuntu version 16.04 (Xenial) instead of Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty) in an upcoming release. This change will apply to Insiders installing new instances (lxrun.exe /install or first run of bash.exe). Existing instances with Trusty will not be upgraded automatically. Users can upgrade their Trusty image to Xenial using the do-release-upgrade command. Users can also now launch Windows binaries directly from a WSL command prompt. This is the number one request from our users on the WSL User Voice page. Some examples include:

Refining your precision touchpad experience: Based on the feedback we have received, we have made some adjustments to our gesture and click detection on precision touchpads. This includes enhancing detection and disambiguation of left and right clicks, making two finger taps and clicks a bit easier, reducing false positives in our two-finger tap detection and improving our pinch to zoom detection. We have also made algorithm changes in an effort to reduce inadvertent zooming when panning

When you go into Settings > Devices > Touchpad, you will now find a section called “Other gestures”. In this section, you now have basic customization options for your three and four finger gestures. For taps, you can select between Cortana, Action Center, play/pause or middle mouse button, and for left/right swipes, you can select between switching apps or switching virtual desktops.

However, we know that some of our Insiders prefer even more control over their experience, so for those Insiders (and power users) we have added a new Advanced Gestures Configuration page. The page can be accessed via a link at the bottom of Touchpad settings page.

The Advanced Gestures Configuration page has more configuration options, including hooking gestures up for next/previous song, creating/deleting virtual desktops, or snapping windows. In addition to these new options, we’ve also updated the Touchpad settings to include reference diagrams to remind you of what to expect when you swipe with three or four fingers in a particular direction.

We have also hooked up our keyboard shortcut picker, so now if you choose that option on the Advanced gestures page, you’ll be presented a recorder so you can capture your favorite key combo – perhaps WIN + Alt + D or WIN + F to start with? And we’ve added a Change audio and volume option to the set of basic swipe gestures you can pick from. Finally, we’ve updated the reset button to now has a progress circle and display a check mark when it is finished.

New Windows Update icon: We have introduced a new Windows Update icon to match the rest of the new iconography in Windows 10. After installing this build, you will see the new icon when Windows Update notifications appear and via Action Center. You can also manage notifications from Windows Update via Settings > System > Notifications.

Service hosts are split into separate processes on PCs with 3.5 GB+ of RAM: If your PC has 3.5+ GB of memory, you may notice an increased number of processes in Task Manager. While this change may look concerning at first glance, many will be excited to find out the motivation behind this change. As the number of preinstalled services grew, they began to get grouped into processes known as service hosts (svchost.exe’s) with Windows 2000. Note that the recommended RAM for PC’s for this release was 256 MB, while the minimum RAM was 64MB. Because of the dramatic increase in available memory over the years, the memory-saving advantage of service hosts has diminished. Accordingly, ungrouping services on memory-rich (3.5+ GB of RAM) PCs running Windows now offers us the opportunity to increase reliably, increase transparency, reduce servicing costs, and increased security. Note that critical system services (services whose recovery require system restarts), as well as a couple of select service hosts, will remain grouped. For more information on this – see this blog post.

Expanding the Active Hours default range: We’ve heard the feedback that you like the control Active Hours provides over when your PC restarts for updates, however feel that that the default 12 hour range on PC is too limited. We want to accommodate various enterprise environments and schedules including those where employees have double shifts, so starting with Build 14942, we’ve changed this range for PCs on Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions to 18 hours. This means Insiders using these editions can now set active hours up to 18 hours from the selected start time (same as Mobile). We’ve added text to the active hours dialog so users always know what the default range is when choosing their times. We’ve also added the ability for the default range to be configured via new group and MDM policies (configurable up to 18 hours). New text will be displayed on the active hours dialog to indicate when the default range is configured via the policy. PCs using Home edition will continue to have a default range of 12 hours.

Knowing where you are in the registry: For our power users, we have added something special in this build – Registry Editor (regedit) now has an address bar! This enables you to easily see your current registry key path, and copy it if needed. You can also paste or type in paths, and pressing enter will take you to that location. You can use Alt + D to set focus to the address bar.

You can use CTRL + L to set focus to the address bar – while we already supported ALT + D, we recognize that some people prefer this keyboard shortcut instead, so now you have the option to use either one. You can also use shorthand notation for HKEY names – you told us that when sharing registry paths you always use shorthand notation (HKCU) instead of typing out the full HKEY name (i.e. HKEY_CURRENT_USER), so we should support them in the address bar, and you know what? We agree! You can now just use “HKCR”, “HKCU”, “HKLM”, and “HKU” instead of typing or pasting the respective full name “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT”, “HKEY_CURRENT_USER”, “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”, or “HKEY_USERS” into the address bar.

Updated Wi-Fi Settings page: We continue to make Settings more similar across Windows devices. We have added a new setting to the Wi-Fi settings page. When you go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi on your PC, then turn Wi-Fi off, you can now select a time under “Turn Wi-Fi back on” to have it turn on automatically after the amount of time you choose. It’s set to Manually by default in this build.

Expanding our to text prediction to more languages: We’ve updated the following keyboards to now support text prediction: Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Slovene (also called Slovenian), Bulgarian, Albanian, Macedonian, Afrikaans, Galician, Basque, Swahili, Bangla in Bangladesh, Georgian, Azerbaijani (also called Azeri) (in Latin script), Kazakh, Armenian, Hausa (in Latin script) and Uzbek (in Latin script). If you speak any of these languages, we’d love for you to try it out and let us know how it feels (specific examples really help, if you have any). We’ll be watching the feedback closely and plan to update this work based on what we hear from you.

Narrator improvements: This build includes a number of improvements to Narrator including multiple fixes to continuous reading when used in tables and on web pages, a fix for the Caps Lock + W reading experience so dialogs and other elements are read correctly again, and a fix so that reading hint text does not interrupt the reading of information by Narrator but comes after the main information is read. And Narrator now properly indicates when it is exiting.

Context Awareness in Narrator: As you navigate around, you can be notified about different groups or other areas you move to, such as groups in the Office ribbon. To configure the amount of context you hear, cycle through options with ALT + Caps Lock + /. To change whether the context is read before the item with focus or after, use CTRL + Caps Lock + /. To check the context at any point. Press Caps Lock + D twice.

Controlling the Display Scaling of your Virtual Machines: We’ve heard your feedback that Hyper-V Virtual Machines sometimes aren’t scaled as you’d expect, so we’ve added a new Zoom option in the View menu, where you can override the default scaling and set it to 100, 125, 150 or 200 – whichever matches your preference. Along the way, we also fixed an issue where certain VMs wouldn’t display the remote desktop connection bar after entering full screen mode. We are still refining the experience so there might be some rough edges. For example, although we added zoom levels to handle high DPI more gracefully, when zooming you won’t be able to see the VM’s whole screen without scrolling.